ORLANDO – Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon came into Friday having scored at least 20 points in three straight games for the first time in his five-year NBA career. Not surprisingly, the Magic won all three of those games as Gordon’s play is usually a barometer of success for the Magic.
Gordon had 21 points against Cleveland last Thursday, 22 against Atlanta on Sunday and he poured in another 20 points on Wednesday against New Orleans – all lopsided Magic victories. In those three games, Gordon made 48.9 percent of his field goals (23 of 47) and 52.6 percent of his 3-point shots (10 of 19) while also averaging 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
For much of the season, Gordon’s shooting and activity in the offense has been a tell-tale sign of how the Magic’s fortunes. In the 36 victories he’s played in, Gordon has averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and 42 percent from 3-point range. Conversely, in the 36 losses he’s played in, his numbers have dipped to 14.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 41.6 percent from the floor and 28.5 percent from 3-point range.
Magic guard Evan Fournier, a teammate of Gordon’s for five seasons now, marvels at the improvement that the versatile forward has made this season.
``He’s doing everything. He’s gotten so much better since last year,’’ Fournier said of Gordon. ``He plays the right way and he makes the right passes. He plays defense, he rebounds the ball, he knocks down shots and he’s just playing at a really high level. That’s the AG we need, period.’’
HOME DOMINANCE: Of the many factors that the Magic needed to break their way this season for them to make a run at a playoff berth, one was establishing a dominance at the Amway Center. While that proved to be something of a challenge early in the season, the Magic have become something of a sure thing at home of late.
The Magic came into Friday riding a five-game winning streak at home and a stretch of nine victories in the last 10 games in Orlando. The five-game winning streak at home is the longest at the Amway Center since Jan. 24-Feb. 9, 2014. The longest home winning spree before that was from Dec. 23, 2010-Jan. 21, 2011 when Orlando ripped off eight straight at the Amway Center.
Also, the Magic have a 21-16 record at home on the season, meaning they have already clinched their first winning home record since 2015-16 (23-18) and have equaled their second-most home victories since 2010-11.
``It’s important, man, to win at home,’ said point guard D.J. Augustin, an 11-year veteran in the NBA. ``Road games are tough in this league, so when we can steal one of those it’s great. But at home, we feel like home games are must wins. With your crowd behind you and being at your familiar home and in your routine, we have the advantage at home, and we’ve got to take advantage of it.’’
INJURY RAVAGED: The Memphis team that showed up at the Amway Center on Friday hardly resembled the one that handed the Magic one of their most disappointing losses of the season on March 10.
On Friday, the Grizzlies were without standout point guard Mike Conley (general soreness), veteran wings Avery Bradley (shin contusion), CJ Miles (foot), Kyle Anderson (shoulder), rookie big man Jaren Jackson Jr. (thigh) and center Joakim Noah (knee).
Conley had 35 points on Wednesday when Memphis defeated the Houston Rockets in overtime despite a 57-point outburst from James Harden.
Conley also played a major role in Memphis’ defeat of Orlando two weeks ago. Conley scored 16 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies ended the game with a 17-2 run. That night, Orlando didn’t have a field goal over the final 6:18 of the game.
UP NEXT: The Magic will be off on Saturday before returning to the practice court on Sunday to gear up for what should be their most significant back-to-back set of games of the season.
Orlando hosts the surging Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night and leaves immediately after that game to travel to Miami. The Magic and Heat play in South Florida on Tuesday in a game that should be filled with playoff implications. Orlando trails Miami in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and it holds a 2-1 lead in the season series. A Magic victory would give them the edge in the tiebreaker that could come into play should the two teams end the season with identical records.
As for the 76ers, the Magic have lost two of the three meetings, but all three games have been tight throughout. The Sixers won 116-115 on Oct. 20 and 114-106 on March 5 in Philadelphia. The Magic won 111-106 on Nov. 14 when they used a 21-0 burst to wipe out a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter. defensively, we’re executing the plan defensively. To be honest, it’s fun to hold teams under 100 and we’ve got to keep it going.’’
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